Google switches Shopping service to free listings

Google has announced that it will now allow any business owner that sells their products online to list their inventory for free on the company's Google Shopping platform.

Up until now, online businesses were required to pay for ad placement on Google Shopping but the search giant has decided to change this in order to help retailers and small businesses better reach their customers during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a blog post announcing the change, president of commerce at Google, Bill Ready explained how the move will benefit retailers, advertisers and shoppers, saying:

“With hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google each day, we know that many retailers have the items people need in stock and ready to ship, but are less discoverable online. For retailers, this change means free exposure to millions of people who come to Google every day for their shopping needs. For shoppers, it means more products from more stores, discoverable through the Google Shopping tab. For advertisers, this means paid campaigns can now be augmented with free listings.”

Google Shopping

The new free option for Google Shopping will go into effect on April 27 and according to Ready, it will also be rolling out worldwide over the next few months.

Customers that previously payed to promote some of their products on the platform will now be able to list their full inventories for free while new users can now apply to place listings for free in Google's Merchant Center.

Additionally Google announced that it is partnering with PayPal to allow merchants to link their accounts. This will help speed up the onboarding process while allowing the company to ensure that it is providing the highest quality results for its users.

Google also plans to continue working closely with its existing partners, including Shopify, WooCommerce and Big Commerce, to help merchants manage their products and inventory.